Puzzel
by Bar-Ohki
Summary: A boy who couldn’t have been any older than seven wanders into the lives of the Elric brothers, showing them a new side of the world....


Puzzle

**Puzzle**

**Author: ****Bar-Ohki**

**Beta: ****ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or its characters or settings.

Summary: A boy who couldn't have been any older than seven wanders into the lives of the Elric brothers, showing them a new side of the world.

Rating: K, because there is some biting.

Other Stuff: See bottom.

Central Station

The train station was full of the usual chaos. People rushed about trying to board almost-departing trains. Others rushed to reunite with loved ones after a long journey. Some people, such as the Elric brothers, stepped onto the platform and began to meander through the crowd with practiced ease. They were in no hurry, nor any reason to be.

Edward, the older and shorter of the brothers, had long blond hair and golden eyes. As was usual for him, he wore his hair in a braid and a long red coat. Beneath the red coat was a black jacket, as well as leather pants and a black tank top. Alphonse, the younger brother, was wearing a vintage suit of armor and carrying their suitcase. The two were such a typical sight, no one even bothered to notice their strange appearances.

Not too long after the Elrics left the train, a young boy stepped onto the platform. He had short brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing an abused gray shirt and bright green shorts. He stepped off of the train, having been mimicking the man in the blue suit in front of him. Quickly the man disappeared into the crowd, leaving the boy lost on the platform. Once he realized that the man was gone, the sounds and chaos of the station hit him.

Alphonse dropped the suitcase when he heard the child screaming. Edward spun on his heels and rushed over to the cause of the noise. Upon arrival, Edward stopped and gawked along with several others. At the boy standing in the middle of the platform, screaming and pounding his head.

"Where's the mother!?" Some irritated old woman snapped, pointing at the boy.

"What kind of woman raises a child to be like that?"(1) Another woman, closer to Edward, whispered to her companion. Though the words made Edward's stomach turn unpleasantly, he couldn't help but to agree; seven year olds shouldn't be throwing tantrums in the middle of public.

"Hey kid!" One of the uniformed station masters approached the screaming boy. "Where's your mom?"

The child flinched away from the man, crying harder. Growing frustrated, the man grabbed the boy's shoulder. The boy panicked, jerked away and bit the man's hand. (2)

"_**Kid!**_" The man cried in agony, trying to free his hand desperately. Edward quickly realized that the kid was responding like a frightened animal. Rushing forward, Ed swiftly got between the man and child. He started to make gentle shushing noises at the child, hoping that the boy would calm down. The station master, though angry, made no move to stop Edward; this probably had to do with the fact Alphonse had set a large, metallic hand on the man's shoulder.

The boy soon quieted and stared at Edward's left shoulder. Edward stopped making shushing noises, waiting carefully for the boy's reaction. The boy reached out and grabbed a fistful of Edward's coat.

"Here we are." The boy said in a quiet, monotonous voice. He continued to stare at Edward's shoulder.(3)

"Yes, we are here." Edward said slowly, not too sure how to react to that. Then the boy let go and stared walking off into the crowd of people, flapping his arms excitedly. (4)

"Ack!" Edward cried rushing after the boy, even though he was not sure where he was going. Alphonse bowed politely to the spectators who were still remaining and hurried after his brother and the boy. It did not take long for the child to wander out into the streets of Central, but Edward managed to catch up with him.

"Wait!" Edward cried. The boy turned around and grabbed Edward's coat once again. The boy was looking away, just as before. (5) Edward stood in a perplexed state.

"Hey, Al?" Edward asked.

"Yes?" Alphonse came to a stop beside Edward, taking care not to crowd the boy.

"What are we going to do with him?" Edward seemed to be panicking now that the entire situation had time to sink in.

"…Why don't we take him to Headquarters and get some help finding his mom?" Alphonse suggested after a while.

"Sure." Edward still looked affrighted.

The process of getting the boy to Headquarters was remarkably painless. He just held onto Edward's coat and followed him wherever he went. Once they arrived at Headquarters, however, there were some problems. Mainly the problem imposed itself in the form of the kid's name and address, because the secretaries at the front desk wanted the information.

"We don't know." Edward told the woman firmly.

"Haven't you _asked_ him?" The secretary all but growled back.

"Hey, what's your name?" Edward asked the kid, who seemed to be too busy staring at the papers posted on the wall to notice.

"Is he deaf?" The woman asked with a frown.

"I don't think so." Edward shook his head. "He responds to loud noises."

"It's more like he's concentrating so hard that he blocks out the rest of the world." Alphonse explained, making a big gesture with his hands to prove his point. "Almost like he's living in his own little world."(6)

"_**Hey! What's your name!?**_" The woman shouted at the boy, startling him. He began to quiver, and then started to cry loudly.

"Dammit!" Edward hissed, immediately dropping down to the boy's level to comfort him again. After a while the boy calmed down once more. He warily looked around.

"Hanky bad?" The boy asked softly, looking confused and anxious.

"Er- second!" Edward stuffed his hands into his pockets trying to find a handkerchief. Al watched his fumbling brother for a moment, then sighed and pulled a handkerchief out of Ed's pocket himself.

"Here," Alphonse crouched and handed the boy the handkerchief.

"Hanky." The boy sounded pleased. He then unfolded it completely and stuck his face in it.

"And why did you bring that demented child here?" The woman asked looking grumpy.

"We were trying to get some help finding his mom." Edward explained.

"If he gets out of line, he's your problem." The woman told Edward flatly, clearly dismissing him with the words.

"Come on, let's go." Edward told the boy, having noticed that the kid wasn't particularly fond of contact.

"Here we are?" The boy asked.

"Yes, here we are." Edward smiled. The boy dropped the handkerchief and then grabbed Edward's coat again after. Alphonse sighed and picked it up, refolding the cloth. Edward quickly led the way to the office of Colonel Mustang.

Normally someone would have been shocked to see that Edward had opened the door of the office in a quiet, normal fashion, but today everyone was busy running around from here to there as if their uniforms were on fire. It was extremely amusing to observe the sight; but the chaos was also extremely distracting for the Elrics. The boy loosened his grip on Edward's coat and slipped away. He crossed the office looking wide-eyed at everything, until eventually he spotted Colonel Mustang's desk in the back of the room. The boy let out a contented sound and ran over to the desk to promptly crawl under it.

It took a few moments for Edward and Alphonse to realize that the child was missing.

"Shit!" The Elrics chorused loudly, startling everyone present in the room.

"F-Fullmetal!" Mustang, a man of average height with black hair and dark eyes, exclaimed, frozen in his steps; he had been caught off guard.

"_The boy!_" Alphonse blurted out, incorrectly assuming that the words would explain everything.

"Boy?" Hawkeye, a stern blond woman with sherry colored eyes, inquired.

"Well, okay, you see there was this boy we found at the train station-" Edward began, waving his hands around frantically.

"-And he was lost and confused-" Alphonse added.

"-He's not completely normal in the head either, if you follow that-" Edward tried to explain.

"-and we came here to get help finding his mom!" Alphonse finished.

"…And where is he now?" Mustang asked with a stony face, not seeing the child mentioned.

"That's the _problem_! He ran off again!" Edward scanned the room once more, now truly desperate.

"Chief, Chief, you need to calm down for a minute, it's not like the kid could have gotten very far." Havoc, a tall man with unruly blond hair and blue eyes, advised Edward.

"Why don't we all sit down for a minute and discuss this rationally, now?" Mustang suggested as he moved over to his own desk. He sat down in his chair and pulled it forward as usual. Then with a startled yelp, Mustang threw himself out of the chair and away from the desk.

"Colonel!" Everyone in the office let out a collective gasp and hurried toward the Colonel's side.

"What the he-?" Mustang cut himself off when he found the source of his surprise. A little boy with brown hair was under his desk in fetal position, nervously rocking back and forth.

"…This kid you were talking about, does he have brown hair?" Mustang asked, rubbing his freshly bitten knee.

"Y-yes!" Edward answered quickly.

"…He bit me." Mustang was not amused.

"He doesn't like to be touched." Alphonse supplied, rather belatedly.

"And also likes to hide in dark, small spaces apparently." Mustang added with a grunt. "What's the kid's name?"

"Er, we don't know. He doesn't respond to spoken words." Edward explained, hoping that Mustang wasn't going to fry him.

"Fullmetal." Mustang pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath. "What were you thinking?"

"Colonel, sir. May I inquire as to why you are positioned on the floor?" A questioning new voice joined the fray. It belonged to Falman, an elderly man with gray hair.

"Falman, would you happen know anything about mental issues?" Mustang asked.

"What would you like to know?" Falman asked, stepping into the room.

"Have a look at this kid." Mustang pointed underneath his desk. Falman only cocked his head slightly, and then walked over to examine the boy.

"Hello." Falman greeted the boy quietly, seeing the clear distress in the child.

"Hello mister." The boy responded quietly. "Do you like alchemists? I like alchemists. Jolio Comanche, born in 1868. Rush Valley, 23014-334 Massle Lane, Macy's Hospital. Lived there for 40 years. State Alchemist. Title: Sliver Alchemist. Enlisted in 1903, rank Colonel. Now located in Central, 294-28443 West Road. Riverside Apartments, number 239."(6)

Mustang, along with everyone else in the room, stared in awestruck silence.

"…He's right, you realize." Falman remarked casually after a moment. "Hello, what's your name? My name is Vato Falman."

"John Hitchcock."(7) The boy, Josh, answered. "New Falnner, 49300-594 Main Street. Red house."

"What the… How did you do that?" Edward asked, amazed.

"He and I seem to be similar." Falman answered vaguely.

"Excuse me?" Mustang looked concerned.

"When I was his age I behaved like that." Falman explained. "To this day I don't know what it is, but my mind does not function as the rest of the world operates. In time one can learn to be more like the rest of the world, which is why I do not act like that on a daily basis."

"What causes it?" Havoc asked, curious.

"No one knows yet. Some children are just born this way." Falman answered. "It would be best to leave him there for now; he'll come out when he's less upset."

"Havoc, did you get that address? Call his mother." Mustang ordered.

"Yessir."

John's mother arrived about two hours later, garbed in a red dress.

"Oh, so he followed you." She gestured to Edward. "John is very visual; he follows people around who wear clothes similar to mine all the time."

"Ah, no, it was no trouble ma'am." Edward assured her.

"He didn't bite you did he?" She asked, a little nervous.

"I'm the only one who got bitten here." Mustang waved it off. "And I had it coming."

"Where is he?" She asked, only to see her son sitting on the floor with an alchemy book next to Alphonse and Falman. He was reading it out loud, telling them about who created which theory.

"Oh!" She smiled. "John, it's time to go home now."

John ignored her and kept on reading. His mother shook her head and tapped the spine of his book. He stopped talking.

"John, it's time to go home." She told him again.

"Here we are?" He asked.

"Yes." Her son set down the book and grabbed her dress, looking ready to go out and face the world.

"Thank you for taking care of him." And the woman left.

"…That was something else…." Mustang muttered after a while. Everyone nodded in agreement.

--

John, like me, is autistic. Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a mental disability. 1 in 150 Americans are diagnosed with autism and 1 in 94 males are autistic. It is something that people don't know a lot about, as its causes are unknown. ASD is not a disease and is not curable in the same way that being born with a misshapen limb is incurable. Personally, I really hate it when people refer to autism like it is a disease (even if it is just using the words 'cure' and 'treatment').

It is a social disorder characterized by being extremely logical and visual in thinking. Autistic people can have trouble recognizing others because their faces aren't the same (changes in expression can make it hard to see who someone is because their face changed from the last time). They struggle interpreting emotions and expressing them. This makes them appear indifferent and uncaring, which is not actually the case. I assure that I am a living, loving person with emotions. Sometimes my inability to express them properly gets them stuck in my head.

I am a highly functional case; I can be independent and live on my own. A majority of the autistic people in the world cannot live on their own and need help doing things like dealing with money. Several autistics have great difficulty dealing with things like money mainly because it can be a very illogical thing, and our minds are not exactly designed to wrap our minds around them. If you want to learn more about autism, feel free to google it (I'd put links but this site doesn't like that) or PM me with your questions.

Below I have listed some typical things autistic children do. Sometimes I do these things myself, but I have to discipline and force myself not to so that I don't come off as 'strange'.

1- Traditionally people thought autism was caused by mothers being cold and unloving to their child. This is not the case. Even still, an ignorant person will often mistake autism for ether bad behavior or improper parenting.

2- Most autistic people do not like being touched or held. As a child I did not like it. Now that I am older I enjoy it more. Autistic children do not realize that biting is wrong. So they do it if they feel cornered or threatened.

3- Also autistics don't make eye contact. Personally I don't see there being any real reason to do it other than to be 'normal'. Why do people have to look someone else in the eye when they talk?

4- Arm flapping is also very typical. I still flap my hands and arms when I get extremely excited. It's kind of fun. My friends started doing it too, which amuses me no end.

5- At the end of the story I stated the mother was also wearing a red dress. In John's eyes Edward is a big red thing. Today big red things are 'mom'. So he's trusting of Edward and grabbing onto the coat like he would his mom's dress.

6- Ability to memorize all sorts of random data, usually on an obsessive level. Did you know that most people don't face you when they are lying? My obsession is actually facial expressions, which has helped me learn to be a better communicator.

7- In honor of Alfred Hitchcock, a famous autistic director.

Other Stuff: I was asked by someone 'who was the most autistic anime character I knew' and my answer was Falman. He's not the best with communication, and seems kind of emotionless. He is also more likely to spit out random factoids (see Fullmetal vs. Flame when Hawkeye is inquiring about the dog and Falman starts giving her a bunch of information about what a dog is).

Don't dismiss this thinking it won't affect you. If you don't already know someone who's autistic, you will. If you look at the lists of famous scientists and engineers of our day, several of them are autistic. Bill Gates and Al Gore have been diagnosed.

And please, be a little more open-minded to autistic people. We need your help to teach us how to communicate.


End file.
